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I-T probe into arms dealer unearths 'Vadra home' in UK

A probe by the income tax department into the transactions of arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari has trained the spotlight on his alleged links with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, especially with regard to the ownership of a house in central London.

Updated: May 31, 2016, 07:51 IST

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New Delhi: A probe by the income tax department into the transactions of arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari has trained the spotlight on his alleged links with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, especially with regard to the ownership of a house in central London.Sources said papers seized by the I-T department during searches last month on Bhandari's premises revealed a trail of emails between Vadra and his assistant on the one hand and the arms dealer's aide Sumit Chadha on the other regarding the purchase of the London house for approximately Rs 19 crore in 2009. There are emails also regarding renovation work carried out on the property before it was sold in June 2010. Responding to TOI's queries, Vadra's legal firm denied that he owned the London property directly or indirectly. It also denied Vadra had any business ties with Bhandari or Chadha. Our clients wish to categorically and unquivocally state that they do not own, directly or indi rectly, any house described by you as House No.12, Ellerton House, Bryanston Square, London,“ Robert Vadra's legal firm said.

The firm's response steered clear of spelling out whether Bhandari and Chadha were known to Vadra but strongly denied they had business ties. "Our clients have no business relations with Sanjay Bhandari. Our clients further state that they have not entered into any transaction of a financial nature with Sanjay Bhandari or Chadha,“ the law firm said even as it alleged that its “clients are being made targets of an unjustified persecution and witch-hunt by false leakages by the government".

In a separate response to NDTV , the law firm stressed that Vadra was not aware of Bhandari's involvement in "defence transactions", adding "our clients have scrupulously avoided even being remotely involved in relation to any defence transaction".

Sources expect more details on Vadra's alleged equations with Bhandari to emerge as the probe against the defence dealer gathers momentum.

Bhandari, known for his connections across the influence spectrum and with a rising reputation as a middleman, came under the I-T department's scanner in connection with the probe launched in 2015 against shell companies which created fake entries to route black money to political parties and passed off illicit contributions as legitimate ones.

Sources said the I-T department had gathered enough evidence to launch Bhandari's prosecution for tax evasion -something which will provide the basis for the Enforcement Directorate to probe him for alleged money laundering under the tough Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The PR firm engaged by Bhandari did not respond to questions from TOI when contacted.

The matter has, predictably, acquired a political dimension, with Congress alleging witch hunt. "An individual is being systematically prosecuted and hounded time and again, year after year without an iota of evidence," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, on the other hand, wrote to the ED on Monday demanding an inquiry into reports that Vadra "proxy-owned" property in London.

Vadra has been mired in controversies since his controversial land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan, transacted when Congress was in power in the two states, came to light before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, giving BJP campaign fodder. The spotlight on his equations with Bhandari comes in the immediate aftermath of the verdict of an Italian court confirming that AgustaWestland had paid kickbacks during the UPA government's tenure to swing the order for 12 choppers for India's VVIP squadron.

The suggestion of a fresh scam involving Vadra should inconvenience Congress also because of its timing, it comes just after the fresh evidence, in the form of defeats in assembly polls earlier this month, of its steady diminution.

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